Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government on Thursday unveiled a budget that effectively serves as its platform for the spring election. Here are the highlights:
OUT OF THE WAY TO BALANCE
The budget calls for $198.6 billion in spending, with billions earmarked for infrastructure this year and over the next decade.
The document promises $158.8 billion over 10 years for highways, transit and hospitals. Infrastructure spending for this year alone is $20 billion.
The fiscal plan shows that the province managed to reduce its deficit to $13.5 billion in 2021-22 from $16.4 billion in the first year of the pandemic.
However, the deficit is expected to grow to $19.9 billion this fiscal year and the government does not plan to balance the books until 2027-28.
A report from the Ontario Office of Financial Responsibility released last month said the province was on track to balance the budget for next year.
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FINANCING FOR HOSPITALS
Hospital infrastructure projects are slated to receive more than $40 billion over the next decade, including about $27 billion in capital financing.
The province says the money will help support hospital projects already underway or currently in the planning stage, as well as go towards new facilities.
Some of the projects listed in the budget, such as a new inpatient tower and expanded emergency department at Scarborough Health Network’s Birchmount location, were part of the government’s recent hospital spending announcements.
HOME CARE FOR THE ELDERLY
A new personal income tax credit will help offset the cost of some medical expenses for seniors.
The budget says the new Ontario Seniors Care at Home credit will reimburse up to 25 percent of eligible expenses up to $6,000, for a maximum credit of $1,500.
The program would go into effect this fiscal year and would be available to those who turned 70 or older in the fiscal year, or have a spouse of that age, and are residents of Ontario at the end of the fiscal year.
TAX RELIEF FOR LOW INCOME
The province promises to boost tax relief for low-income workers and families and increase the number of people who qualify for the benefit.
The budget says 1.1 million Ontario taxpayers stand to save an additional $300 this year, on average, as a result of changes to the Low Income Individuals and Households Tax Credit program.
It says the maximum amount will rise from $850 to $875, and more workers will be eligible, for a total of about 1.7 million beneficiaries.
The province says the expanded credit will provide $320 million in total tax relief.
EXPANDING HIGHWAYS
The government says it will invest $25.1 billion over 10 years to repair, widen and build highways, roads and bridges in various parts of the province.
Projects include a new twin bridge over the Welland Canal at Queen Elizabeth Way and the widening of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario from Pickering, Ontario, and Oshawa, Ontario.
The province says it will spend nearly $493 million this year to jump-start previously announced projects in northern Ontario, including the twinning of Highway 17 between Kenora and the Manitoba border and a widening of Highway 69 between Parry Sound and Sudbury.
MEASURES FOR DRIVERS
The government says it will change car insurance rules, a new measure for drivers that follows several pre-budget announcements aimed at motorists.
The budget outlines a plan that the province says will give drivers more choice and ensure fairness when it comes to insurance, while cracking down on fraud.
It says drivers will be able to better customize insurance to their needs and buy coverage based on vehicle usage.
Some other measures for motorists that are included in the budget were announced before the document was published.
These include the cancellation of tuition fees and refunds for those who have already paid, as well as the temporary removal of gas and fuel taxes.
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GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES, JOB MOVING OUT OF TORONTO
Several provincial agencies could leave the Toronto area in a move the government says would save on real estate costs and bring jobs to other regions.
Ontario Public Service will also consider a hybrid work model for employees as part of the same effort, according to the budget.
PAHO is designing and testing co-working spaces in Hamilton, London, Ont., Sudbury, Ont. and Ottawa, with a plan to seek other regional locations in the future as needed.
The province recently announced it would seek to move the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board headquarters to London and now says it will consider communities outside of Toronto for other agencies, including new ones such as Intellectual Property Ontario.
TAX CREDITS FOR FILM, BOOKS AND ANIMATION
A series of tax credits conceived in the late 1990s to support cultural media is about to be revamped to account for current practices and the rise of online production and distribution.
The budget says that film and television productions that are distributed exclusively online will be eligible for a credit, and the province will remove a rule that limited credits to books with more than 500 published print editions.
The budget says the province will also seek to simplify an appropriation for computer animation and special effects, and review appropriations related to increased filming in Ontario communities.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca